Not Applicable
by Nate Grey
Summary: Robin's collecting bios for the team, and in order to get Raven's, he'll have to first teach her a lesson in trust.


Notes: Robin & Raven are fun to work with.  I think Raven has built all these walls around herself, but Robin has experience dealing with people like that… I probably should've done this before "Raven's Reward," but too late now.

This story assumes that Robin has not shared his true identity with the other Titans.

…well, it's not like he ever takes off that mask!  And since no one ELSE has names outside of their codenames…

Summary: Robin teaches Raven a lesson in trust.

Not Applicable

A Teen Titans Fanfic by

Nate Grey (XMAN0123@aol.com)

Robin sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he checked the clipboard again.  "Somehow, Batman always made this look so easy…" he muttered.

"You say somethin', Rob?" Cyborg asked from his seat before the massive computer.

"Nah," Robin replied, leaning on his teammate's shoulder.  "How's the upload coming?"

"95% aaaaaaaand…done!  Starfire's bio is complete!  Who's next on the list?"

With a smirk, Robin shook his head.  "Raven."

"Okay!  Lemme just check my files, and…huh.  That's weird.  Don't really have anything on her."

"I didn't think you would.  Just enter her powers for now.  I'll get the rest."

Cyborg turned around in his chair.  "Uh…hold on, Rob.  I know you're the boss and all, but…maybe asking Raven personal questions isn't a good idea, if you know what I mean."

"You're right, Cy.  I am the boss.  I'm also the one that asked her to join in the first place.  If she won't talk to me, then she won't talk to anyone.  But the fact is, we need this information.  It could save our lives one day, and I refuse to lose any of you just because somebody valued their privacy."

"Guess I never thought of it that way," Cyborg admitted softly.

"Well, that's why it's my responsibility, not yours.  I have to think that way."  Robin turned and headed for the door.

"Hey, Rob?" Cyborg called to his friend suddenly.

"Yeah?" Robin asked, glancing over his shoulder.

Cyborg grinned at him.  "Love you, too, man.  Good luck."

"Thanks," Robin chuckled.  "I just might need it."

* * * * *

Raven was not in a particularly good mood as she walked to the kitchen that night.  Of course, she wasn't exactly in a bad mood, either.  To say she was feeling neutral would've been a good place to start, but anything beyond that would've been pushing it.

Everyone else had long since gone to bed, which gave her free reign over the whole Tower.  That was just fine with Raven, for as much as she considered the other Titans her friends, she was not in the habit of sharing her personal space twenty-four hours a day.  Between Starfire's nonstop questions and Beast Boy's continued attempts to get her to laugh at his jokes, she barely had time for herself some days.  Robin and Cyborg, at least, pretty much gave her all the space she needed, and had thus endeared themselves to her for the time being (not that she ever planned on telling them that).

 But any thoughts of Robin being on her good side came to halt when she finally sensed that he was still awake…and waiting for her in the kitchen.

Automatically, Raven went on the defensive, wondering if she should just skip the midnight snack and go straight to bed.

~"You know he'll just keep trying until he corners you,"~ she reminded herself.  ~ "Better to find out what he wants and say no now, Raven."~

Arming herself with a slight scowl, Raven walked into the kitchen.

Robin was seated on the far side of the table.  He looked up as she came in, but remained silent.

She eventually noticed the two small tubs of ice cream on the table.  One of them just so happened to be vanilla bean, her preferred (not favorite, as that would imply she enjoyed it) flavor.

Robin held up a spoon.  "A peace offering," he said, offering it to her.

Raven hesitantly took the spoon and sat down across from him.  She had just picked up the vanilla bean when Robin pulled out a small recorder and set it on the table.  Her gaze hardened.  "If you're planning to pick up anything other than chewing and swallowing, you had better put that away.  Quickly."

Robin made no move to comply with her demand.  "Raven, you know I have to do this."

"No, you don't."

"If you don't want to tell me directly, then at least set a day aside to enter into the database."

"No."

Robin frowned.  "Raven…"

"What?"

"Why are you being so difficult?"

"It's a hobby," she snapped.

Robin shook his head.  "I don't understand why you insist on hiding from us.  We're your friends…at least, we want to be.  But we hardly even know you, and you won't let us get any closer."

"If you want to remain my friend, Robin, then back off."

"What if I said I'm not backing off because I am your friend?"

"Then I'd say you don't know me very well.  A real friend would give me space."

"A real friend would want to protect you from yourself…but I can't do that if you won't let me."

She glared at him.  "I don't need protecting!  No one on this team does!"

He shrugged.  "Maybe not.  But we ARE a team, and we work together.  That means trusting each other."

"Then trust me when I say I don't want to talk about this.  ANY of this."  Raven picked up her ice cream and stood up to leave.

"I promised myself I wouldn't do this, Raven, but you're leaving me no choice," Robin said firmly.

Raven smirked.  "What are you going to do?  Hit me?  Kick me off the team?"

"No.  I'm going to show you something."  With that, Robin reached up to take off his mask.  His fingers were almost at his temples when his fingers locked up, halted by an unseen force.

"Stop it," Raven whispered, her eyes wide in fear in disbelief.  "You can't do that.  It's…not fair."

"Why not?  If I want you to trust me, I have to be honest with you.  Completely."

"No, you don't.  I could read your mind whenever I wanted."

"But you wouldn't read that part.  Would you?"

She didn't say anything.

"It's one thing if you read my mind and find out my secret identity.  It's another if I show it to you willingly.  It means I trust you to keep my greatest secret."

"I won't let you do this," Raven stated.  "I won't let you…trust me with that information."

Robin's expression softened.  "Why not?"

"It…it could be used against us.  If something were to happen to me…anyone could find you, if I knew who you really were."

"Maybe I'd trust that you wouldn't tell that secret, no matter what."  Robin locked eyes with her.  "Maybe I already do."

She shook her head.  "Don't be stupid, Robin.  I won't allow you to endanger yourself this way."

"Trusting people is all about taking risks, Raven.  You took a risk in joining this team.  What was the point if we never even get to know you?"

"Can't you understand that sometimes I don't even trust myself?!" she cried.

"Yes.  But if something were to happen to you, something that only you understood, we wouldn't be able to help, because you never told us about your past, where you came from, or what can hurt you.  I understand you don't want to be protected, Raven, really.  But being a real friend is wanting to protect just the same, even when it's not allowed.  At least give us the option of knowing what you're dealing with inside."

She was silent for a long moment.  "A compromise," Raven said at last.

"I'm listening," Robin replied.  

"I'll…tell you everything."  Her eyes narrowed.  "But ONLY you.  No one else finds out.  Ever."

"Ever?"

"…unless something happens to you, in which case I might even tell someone else.  But for now, you are the only one that will know."

"Raven, you DO know that defeats the purpose of me collecting this information for the database?"

"I don't care.  I'm only trusting you with this.  If you keep your mouth shut, I'll know my trust was well-placed.  If you blab, I'll kill you…and I wouldn't trust you anymore, of course."

"Okay.  I promise I won't tell anyone whatever you tell me.  But how is that a compromise?"

"You get your information and my trust.  I don't have to deal with whatever's behind your mask.  Ever."

Robin frowned.  "So…basically, you trust me, but you don't want me to trust you?"

"Not with that, at least.  You could tell me something else you don't normally tell people."  She paused and smirked.  "Boxers or briefs?"

Robin turned bright red.  "Both…but not at the same time."

"Good.  So now we'll be even."  Raven sat down and sighed.  "But there's one problem."

"What's that?" Robin asked, sitting as well.

"We're going to need a LOT more ice cream to get through this…"

"Don't worry, I went out and stocked up today.  Something told me your life story wouldn't be a short one."  Robin slid the recorder across the table to her.  "Just so you don't think I'm cheating."

The recorder suddenly flew up and slammed into the table, smashing itself into tiny bits.

Robin stared at the mess.  "…that was very immature, Raven."

Raven shrugged innocently.  "Now I don't think you're cheating."

* * * * *

After breakfast the next day, Cyborg cracked his knuckles.  "Okay, Rob!  Got that bio for me?"

"Yup," Robin said calmly.

"Great!  Lay it on me!"

"Nope."

"…what?"

"Sorry, Cyborg.  But everything Raven told me stays up here," Robin replied, tapping his forehead.  "That was the only way I could get her to sit still long enough."

"Aw…well…I guess as long as one of us knows."  He lowered his voice a bit.  "So…was it juicy?"

Robin shook his head.  "It was…like a horror movie."  He frowned.  "A really, REALLY bad horror movie."

"You know, I wish I could say I was surprised."  Cyborg frowned thoughtfully.  "But you know what this means, don't you?"

"Yeah.  Her life is in my hands," Robin said gravely.  "Well, and my head."

"Hey, just be glad you broke down her wall, man," Cyborg replied, patting his shoulder.  "Think she'll want to party with us from now on?"

Robin shook his head.  "Not a chance."

* * * * *

~"Well…now you've done it,"~ Raven thought to herself as she stared out over the city.  ~ "You've gone and willingly exposed yourself to Robin.  Now you'll be vulnerable to everything we face."~

She liked to think that Robin was capable enough to not get captured.  But at the same time, he didn't have any powers, either…

~"Can't think like that.  He's our leader for a good reason."~

Still, it was odd, knowing there was now someone who knew her inside and out.  It was scary, but at the same time…almost comforting, in a way.

~"He was willing to share everything with me, without even knowing who or what I really was.  I can trust him.  I should trust him.  I…do trust him…"~

"There you are, Raven!!!" said a cheerful voice.

Raven turned to see Starfire and an excited green puppy bounding across the roof to her.  With a quiet sigh, she prepared herself for the overdose of affection that was sure to come with them.

"We have been looking all over for you!" Starfire exclaimed. 

"I…needed some time to think.  By myself."  She noticed the puppy kept leaping up and down at her side, and finally consented with a tiny pat on the head for it.

The puppy was clearly overjoyed and began to run around the two girls, wagging its tail rapidly.

"Beast Boy and I noticed you were exceptionally quiet at breakfast," Starfire went on.  "We were concerned.  Is everything well with you, Raven?"

"I'm fine, but…"  She managed a tiny smile, for their sakes.  "…thanks for checking up on me, guys."

"Oh, of course!" Starfire replied at once with a sunny smile.  "That is what friends do for their friends!"

"I'm beginning to realize that, actually.  Let's go back inside."

"I must admit to having another reason for seeking you out, Raven," Starfire said suddenly.

"Oh?" Raven asked warily.

"Beast Boy thinks—and I agree—that you might need a hug."

Raven stared at her.

"And, so you would not feel forced to hug him, we are both here to offer our arms to you."  Starfire held out her arms and smiled hopefully.

Beside her, the puppy suddenly became a green panda with huge, watery eyes.  It reached out in much the same way Starfire did.

Raven looked back and forth between each of them several times.

"Feel free to initiate the hug at any time!" Starfire encouraged.

"Um.  Right."  Feeling more trapped than loved, Raven hesitantly moved towards Starfire, trying to ignore the blinding, joyous expression that appeared on her friend's face when she realized who had been chosen to receive the hug.  She almost made it look as if she were trying to hug a poisonous snake, rather than an alien girl.

Starfire didn't seem to care, as she was still too excited that Raven had chosen her over Beast Boy.  As soon as Raven touched her, she wrapped the slightly smaller girl up in a big, enthusiastic hug.

Raven was obviously uncomfortable, but tried to enjoy it.

But that was when the panda decided it couldn't wait anymore and pulled them both into a huge, furry hug.

"Doesn't the affection of your dear friends feel wonderful, Raven?" Starfire asked happily, pressing her face into the warm fur.

Crushed between the panda and the alien girl, Raven could only think of one reply.  "I'll be glad to tell you, Starfire…when I regain any feeling at all…"

The End.

If you're wondering why there are NO details of Raven's history here…I'm familiar with it, but I need to refresh my memory, as it's been a while.  I do know it probably won't come up in the show, so I want to be careful with how much I involve in my stories.  Other than that, did it suck?    _


End file.
